Buckle



(No Model.)

W. SPONHAUER.

BUCKLE.

Patented Oct. 4,1881.

" UNITED STATES PATENT "OFFICE.

WIDLER s. SPONHAUER, OF FORT WAYNE, INDIANA, AssIe-NoR TO 0. B.

NORTH & oo., OF NEW HAVEN, coN EoTIoUT.

BUCKLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 247,960, dated October 4, 1881.

Applidatiou filed Jim 21:, ion. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WIDLER S. SPoNHAUER, of Fort Wayne, in the county of Allen and State of Indiana, have invented a new Improvement in Buckles; and I do hereby declare thefollowing, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the let ters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in-

Figure 1, a front "iew; Fig. 2, a side view; Fig. 3, a longitudinal central section, with tug and trace applied; Figs. 4, 5, and 6, parts detached,in perspective, ona reduced scale; Fig. 7, a longitudinal central section of the buckle.

This invention relates to an improvement in that class of buckles used for adjusting the traces of a harness and securing the traces to the tug, commonly called trace-buckles; and the invention consists in the construction, as hereinafter described, and particularly recited in the claim.

The buckle is composed of three parts. A is the base or frame, (shown detached in Fig.4 B,the tug-loop, (shown detached in Fig.5;) 0, the tongue part, (shown detached in Fig. 6.) The frame A is litted with the usual side loops, D D, and with a transverse slot, E, through which the other two parts are introduced. The tug-loop consists of two segment-shaped sides, F F, connected at one end by a cross-bar, H, to which the tug I is-attached, the other end connected by a cross bar, L, the purpose of which will be explained hereinafter. The other part, 0, consists of two semicircular sides, M M, connected at one end by a cross-bar, N, and at the other by a flat bar or plate, P, on the under side of which is a stud,a, to engage one of the perforations in the trace R. The tug part is set in place on the plate A by passing the bar L up through the slot E of the plate A. The other part is passed through the same slot E in the plateA, so that the plate P comes above the plate A, as seen in Figs. 2 and 3. The side pieces Fof the tug part and M of the tongue part each take abearing respectively on the seats b and d in the plate A. The tug being attached to its part, the traceR is in-.

troduced beneath the bar N of the tongue part, that part being turned up, as indicated in broken lines, Fig. 3, so asto permit the trace to pass over the frame A and below the bar P until one of the perforations comes in line with the stud a; then the bar P is pressed downward, the stud to entering the perforation in the trace,leaving the barP flat upon the trace and parallel with the frame A, the trace between the two, as seen in Fig. 3. Then the tug-piece, which has been previously raised, as indicated in Fig. 3, is drawn down, bringing the bar L onto the top of the plate P, as seen in Fig. 2. The draft on the tug being below the bearings 11 in the plate A, and against which the tug-piece is drawn, forces the bar L hard upon the bar P and prevents the displacement of the tongue-piece.

When adjustment of the trace is desired the trace and its part are thrown forward, or the tug part rearward, into the position seen in Fig. 3; then the tongue-piece may be raised, as indicated in broken lines, to draw the stud a from the perforation in the trace. The tug is provided with the usual pocket to receive the ends of the trace.

By this construction the parts are easily separable when desired, are simple in construction, and produce a buckleof the strongest kind.

In addition to the strength of tlie'stud to resist the strain, the action of the draft is to force the two parts P and A together, so as to gripe the trace, the tug-piece serving as a lever to thus force them together.

While the segment and substantially semicircular shape is the most desirable for the tug part and the tongue part, those side pieces may be of any desirable shape which will per mit one bar of the tug part to be attached to the tug below the frame A and the other bar 0 above the tongue part, so that the two parts shall be above or outside the frame, the forward bar of the tongue partlying below the outer or free end bar of the tug part.

I claim- The combination of the frame A,co nstructed with the transverse slot E, and arranged to bear upon the inside of the trace, the tongueconnected at their ends inside the frame by a crossbar, H, to which the tug is attached, and their other ends connected by a cross-bar, L, outside the frame and trace, and so as to bear upon the tongue-piece, substantially as de- [5 scribed.

WIDLER S. S'PONHAUER. Witnesses:

MILFORD LEWIS, MARTIN O. SENsENY. 

